Journal
by namikazeNatsumi
Summary: Naru had been given a journal by her shrink to record all her life events. One week later she finds out she has stage 2 leukemia. Will she be able to fulfill her unrequited love before her time ends? Sasu/FemNaru, hint of Sasu/Saku, Ita/Kyuu, Kaka/Iru etc
1. Chapter 1

Dear diary,

No

Dear journal,

Uh, no

Dear…

Oh stuff this, I'll just forego the stupid informalities with my inanimate notebook.

"_I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have stage 2 leukemia. It's not too late. There is still a chance you can beat it, but your time is running out."_

How do you react to something like this? What can you do when your doctor has practically told you that you are going to die in a short time? These thoughts swarmed my head as the message repeated over and over like a mantra in my mind. I'm dying. I'm dying very soon. I'm too young to die. I don't want to die. Not yet anyway. But what am I living for anyway? I wanted to tell someone but there is no one to tell. It's been a month since I was told that my body had become a ticking time bomb. A month since I was told I was dying.

I opened my eyes and sighed. I had lost hope this past month. I, Namikaze Naru, had lived like a bum in my own condo, surely it is an unhealthy way for an 18 year old girl to live. I hadn't bothered to go out since I get dizzy in the sun and feel faint easily when I walk long distances. I felt like everything was in slow motion. My head throbs painfully all the time as if I had just gotten a bad concussion. I feel nauseated at the very scent of food, and even when I do force myself to swallow it, it goes straight back out. These days my new best friend had been my toilet bowl. Somehow, they had come up with an alternative to chemotherapy that isn't as damaging and that doesn't kill all your cells and make you lose your hair. The down side of course, all the other side effects that usually come with traditional chemotherapy are slightly (much) worse. Even though I'm dying, I'm so glad that I'm not in financial stress, so I can afford the best treatment and buy the hospital's silence. No one but my doctor and nurse knows about it. I'm happy. They've begged me to not burden myself with work and all that, but I can't. I needed to make a will, sort out my funeral costs et cetera et cetera. I don't want to burden others in the event of my passing away. Plus my parents had left me their business empire when they passed away, and made it easy for me to take over the business, making my mourning less miserable. I want the one that takes over the company when I die to be a little more at ease.

Everyone has always pestered me about being too concerned with other people's well being than my own. I always shrugged it away, but now I see, no, I'm now forced to see that what they said was true. Dying changes you. Dying makes you think of what's important to you. It makes you appreciate everything and everyone around you. If I think back now, I think I'm not ready to die yet. The prospect of dying doesn't scare me, because let's face it; everyone has to die sometime, others earlier than most. Am I one of the 'others'? There are still so many things I wish to accomplish before I go, most are impossible for me to accomplish in this condition. However, there is one particular one I can do. But I can't do it. I just can't. Not now. I had lost my chance in the past; I'm the one that introduced _her _to _him_. I should be happy for then right? I shouldn't bother them with my petty problems; that is if you can count death as petty. I don't want to ruin their relationship because of my selfishness. I don't want them to pity me. I may be dying but I've still got my integrity intact.

_Flashback_

_We had planned to have lunch together today. It had been a week since the horrible news I received. Of course __**they**__ didn't know anything about it, not that I plan to tell them anyway. It was the first time I stepped out of my apartment since the hospital visit. I wanted to cancel on them but the kept on insisting I should come. It's not that I don't like them; I just hate being the third wheel all the time._

_God, this street seems much steeper than it usually is. Maybe foregoing the car was a stupid idea. But then again, my doctor had told me to refrain from driving. I didn't even dare to ask why. Walking seemed like a good idea at the time. Stupid. A taxi would have been better. But then they'll ask questions. Telling them I wanted a little exercise seemed like a better lie. _

_I had __**finally**__ reached their apartment door. And the sounds that I'm about to hear will probably scar me for life. Hey, it's not my fault their bloody walls are so thin. For all I know they're practically shouting by the sound resonance on my side of the door._

"_Ah! Sasuke stop it! Naru's going to be here any minute." A female voice shrieked._

"_Who cares? Fuck Naru. I want you now." The husky male voice replied._

_I abruptly stopped my hand before it came in contact with the door that I was about to knock. I smiled bitterly. 'Who cares' indeed. My best friend had practically told me to fuck off. Who am I to interrupt their 'beautiful love making'? Eww, I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. Double eww. Whatever, I'll just wait outside or something. I'll have enough time to come up with some lame excuse about being late or whatever. I sighed dejectedly as I went back downstairs to wait in the lobby. The apartment receptionist gave me a smile. I smiled back at him. He's a nice person. Umino Iruka. He was my teacher back in primary school. Kind of like a father, scratch that, __**mother**__-hen__ to me, his boyfriend Hatake Kakashi is the one that acts like a father. He was my teacher in primary too. Super pervert, reads porn all the time. How do I know? Well, I'm his supplier since the writer, king of all perverts, is __my__ paternal grandfather. Of course, Iruka, being the kind and understanding person/boyfriend he is, doesn't mind his other half's pervy habits, although Kakashi being the pervert he is, pushes the poor man's buttons too often by asking him to act out the scenes from his porn bible. Poor Iruka._

"_Still going at it are they?" Iruka asked._

"_Yeah." I sadly replied._

"_You should tell them, Naru."_

"_Huh?"_

"_About the cancer." I swear, it's like he can read my mind. "Sasuke and Sakura are just going to get angry at you if you wait to tell them at the last minute or even worse…" He trailed off._

"_How did you…?" I widened my eyes in surprise._

"_Kakashi works with Itachi in the hospital, and they're cousins. You seriously don't expect Itachi to not blab about it right? You're lucky Kyuubi didn't find out though, he would have gone crazy trying to nurse you back to health." He sighed._

_Damn that pervert! Yeah, unbelievable isn't it? The bloody pervert is a fricking oncologist. Who would have thought, right? Itachi is Sasuke's older brother and my elder brother, Kyuubi's, husband, seme of course. No way can my brother dominate him. Nuh-uh. Not in a million years. Itachi is also my doctor. __**Supposed**__ to be sworn to secrecy but apparently he's good at finding loop-holes in people's speeches. At the time I technically said not to tell anyone about any of this, but of course, Kakashi wasn't just anyone, he's an __**oncologist**__, and he's Itachi's senior. And of course Kakashi wasn't sworn to any secrecy about it, thus he blabbed to Iruka. Ironic huh? How life can bite you in the ass? What did I ever do to deserve this fate? Not the dying part. I'm just glad Iruka hasn't gone all mother-hen-mode on me._

"_Please…" I bit my lip._

"_Don't worry Naru, I wont tell anyone unless you want me to. I want you to be happy and take care of yourself though. Of course I'm not happy that there is a chance of you leaving all of us behind, but we don't have a choice do we?" He smiled sadly._

"_Yeah." I smiled back, with that fake smile I know he hates. I can't help it. I can't pretend I'm happy right now._

"_But even so, just because your time may be nearly up, doesn't mean you should just give up that easily." He grinned widely. "If you need our help, don't hesitate to tell me okay?"_

_I nodded, "Thanks Iruka-sensei." I smiled back, genuinely this time._

"_That Sasuke is not a very bight one is he?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_I don't mean to speak ill of someone close and dear to you, but he has no idea what he's missing." _

"_No, sensei. It was my fault. I didn't even see it until it was too late." I sighed._

"_I hope __he__ doesn't make that mistake too." He whispered._

_We ended up in a comfortable silence. I like it. The quiet. My life had always been hectic. One meeting after another. It's no wonder I'm dying so young. I had pushed myself harder and harder to get ahead in life, to not burden my brother too much. Even to the point that I graduated with Honors in Business and Law at the age of 16. I had always wanted a normal life. I just had no idea my 'normal' life would start as soon as I get a life-threatening disease. Cancer really does make you re-organize your priorities in life, whether you like it or not. I guess I should be grateful too, everything happens for a reason after all._

_I was so engrossed in my mid-day stupor that I didn't notice my phone buzzing in my pocket, or the look of absolute irritation etched on Sasuke's face as I continued to look out the window. It wasn't until he poked me on the shoulder that I noticed his presence. _

"_Why are you so jumpy?" He raised an eyebrow._

"_Huh? Really? Ahaha, I just didn't notice you were here that's all." I lied. Of course I get jumpy when people touch me, stupid. I have bloody leukemia. I bruise like a peach or something even softer. Even the slightest pressure on my skin can burst a few blood vessels and I'll look like I've been in a brawl._

_He seemed not to buy the lie. "When did you get here?" He frowned._

"_Oh, I just arrived a few minutes ago." I lied again. I hate lying to him, it's like he can see right through me._

"_Why didn't you call us then?" He raised an eyebrow._

'_**Us**__'. I never thought I would hate that word. "Oh, I just wanted to catch up with Iruka-sensei." I smiled._

_He knows it's my fake smile too. Damn it, why must I be such a horrible liar?! "Then why aren't you talking to him?" I can tell he's getting frustrated now._

"_Teme, he needs to get back to work you know? Why are you asking so many questions anyway? Geez, what are you, the police?!" I feigned to get pissed._

"_Hn. Whatever. Are we going to lunch or not?" _

'_**We'**__. That's another word I officially hate. Gawd, I hate being this jealous. It's so unbecoming of me. "About that…" Just thinking of food is making me queasy…_

"_What? Don't tell me you have to cancel?" He challenged._

"_As a matter of fact, yes, I do." I retorted._

"_Why?" Another challenge. Geez, will you just let it go?!~_

"_Because…" Dear God, someone help me!_

"_Because she has an appointment to go to which is coincidentally close to this condo complex, Sasuke-san." Iruka finished for me._

"_Yeah, what he said." Thank you Iruka for your awesome mind-reading abilities._

"_Then why can't you finish the sentence yourself?"_

"_Seriously, Sasuke, you're being unusually nosy today." What ever happened to 'Fuck Naru'?! "What I do is not your business." Shit, I'm getting a little too angry. I turned my back to him. "Why don't you tend to your __**girlfriend**__'s problems instead of prying into mine?" I spat the word out like it was venom. "If you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to." I started walking out, but was yanked back by a tight grasp to my wrist, shit it hurts. I can already feel it bruising. He could probably feel me flinching from the grip. I quickly yanked my wrist out of his hand and covered it with my other hand before he notices the bruising. _

"_What is your problem Naru?!" He spat out. I can feel the dark aura surrounding him with a 5 meter radius. He's clenching his fists so tightly if he did it any tighter he'll probably start bleeding. His eyes are twitching like crazy, a definite sign he's beyond pissed._

"_What the hell is __your__ problem, Uchiha? I come here to tell you nicely that I can't attend your stupid lunch meeting and you question me like you're a fucking detective." I took a deep breath to calm myself down. "Whatever. We both know you would rather be somewhere else right now, and I have somewhere to get to. Goodbye Sasuke." I had turned my back on him again and started walking. _

"_Naru!" _

_I stopped in front of the heavy glass doors, my hand gripping them for support, I looked back to him one last time, "Goodbye Sasuke." I smiled sadly to him before I exited, there was even a taxi waiting for me outside, courtesy of Iruka of course. He had called for one during our quarrel. Ah, what would I do without him?_

_I didn't look back to where Sasuke was standing. I don't think I could handle it. As I got in the back seat of the taxi, I discreetly heard him asking me where I wanted to go. I looked at the wrist Sasuke grabbed and lo and behold there was a hand-shaped purple bruise ._

"_Konoha Private Hospital please." I told the taxi-driver. He nodded and drove me there in silence_

_End of Flashback_

I sighed miserably as I looked at the light blue bruise still covering my left wrist. It had been more than 3 weeks and the damn thing had still not healed properly yet. Sure it had reduced in size, but it was no where near back to normal. The color had changed to a less frightening shade of blue though. I guess I should be happy about that. Kakashi and Itachi had told me that it was a great improvement and that the medication was working, if only a little bit. Usually stage 2 leukemia patients took months to years, if they lived that long, to just heal from a simple bruise.

I guess I should be happy, that my life had extended, if only for a little longer. But why don't I? Why don't I feel happy at all? Hn, I should have probably said that I had been avoiding Sasuke ever since _that day_. It hurt every time I remember it. What he had said to Sakura. His facial expression as I got into the cab. Stupid peripheral vision. Letting me see his miserable looking face. Tch. Itachi had even asked me about it. Damn, Sasuke must have been desperate to go to his aniki for advice. He somehow developed a grudge towards Itachi over the years. Over what? No one really knows. I don't think anyone dares to even ask him about it. Clearly Itachi had no idea why his brother became so… hateful towards him. Poor Itachi.

People have often wondered why I never sound so upset, my 'therapist', a.k.a. Iruka, (but seriously he is actually my therapist, he's licensed and very good at his job, one of many by the way, I'm straying, right back to the topic…) had suggested to put a 'positive spin to grim news' as he put it so I don't become so pessimistic and become uh… 'Sasuke-like'. He gave me this journal so I can record all the things of importance in my life. Coincidentally, he had given it to me only a few days before the hospital visit. Is he psychic or what?

Anyway…

Yes, I'm avoiding Sasuke. Aren't I just so mature? Honestly, I don't dare to show my face to him. Heck, I didn't even dare to look at myself in the mirror. I assure you, it was not a pretty sight. I had briefly asked Itachi to describe how I looked, and he didn't dare to answer me but gave me a compact mirror instead. I have never hated a mirror with such a vengeance in my life. I wanted to break it so badly but I remembered it was not proper etiquette to go smashing mirrors in a hospital. Well, whatever, my face was extremely skinny now, I could see my jaw bones sticking out, my cheeks hollowed, I looked pale, paler than Sasuke (that is serious), my usually bright blue eyes became dull and grey, I had nearly purple bags under my eyes from the constant lethargy and sleepless nights. When I had gotten changed from my hospital robes in the bathroom I had checked the rest of my body, I wanted to know if it was an worse than my face, which was probably impossible since I looked like a fucking zombie. Well what do you know? My body **does** look as bad as my face. All my ribs had stuck out, my hip bones had jutted out too, my clavicle poked out, my thighs had become impossibly skinnier, although I must say that my chest and rear stayed the same size. Oh how I love my body, being so wonderfully selective of where I lost or gained weight first. I weighed myself on the scale, object of my hatred number 2 at the moment (usually number 1) next to the mirror. 38 kgs. Shit, I'm seriously underweight. Borderline (if not actually) anorexic. God (and my doctors) know I'm not trying to starve myself. It's just that the food refuses to stay in my stomach. I've had to get IV feedings for the past 2 and half weeks, but still my weight went down. Also due to the medication I had to take. 38kgs may not seem a lot for the more petite and small framed typical Japanese female, but due to my German, French, Belgian and whatnot heritage from both sides of the family, I am a full fledged, large-chested (thank God =D), 173cm tall, and usually a healthy 58kg female. I had lost 20kgs in the past 4 weeks, most of the weight came off after the Sasuke incident though. I used to look like the Eiffel tower, as kindly put by some random classmate of mine that I bumped into once. Now I look like a fucking underfed giraffe. Great, isn't it?

I have currently moved to the hospital premises indefinitely while my treatment is still going. Itachi was pissed when he found me passed out on the lawn of the hospital on my way there. He had scolded me over a period of 1 hour, 3 minutes and 47 seconds, not that I was counting. It was the most I had heard him talk in one go. I think I've heard him talk more in that time than I have heard him speak since I had met him, which was when I was only a week old. He said something along the lines of:

"…could have died…"

"…get Kyuubi angry…"

"…how… to explain…"

"…stupid idea… living alone…"

"…stupid otoutou…"

"…left dead on the side of the road somewhere…"

"…dead body… floating on the river…"

"…fucking stupid otoutou…"

"…Kyuubi will fucking kill me… slowly… castrate me with a blunt knife… play with my internal organs… mutilated body… unidentifiable…"

… et cetera et cetera.

Crazy right? After that, Itachi had forced me to live in the private wing of the hospital and proceeded to ask one of the nurses, Ino, to go over to my apartment and get my things. She was the nurse who always took care of me. Lovely girl that one. Strange tastes in men though. I'm not judging but he's not what I had expected someone like Ino to date. She was tall, slim, blonde, the super popular type, sweet and friendly girl. Chouji however, was a little vertically and horizontally challenged, (tell him that and you'll be beaten to a pulp) but he's a super nice guy, I see why she chose him. They make a cute, yet strange couple. Makes me jealous that they have each other. Here I am, dying, alone, yes, I do have many friends that love me and care about me, but having someone dear to you during your time of struggle is… different. I want that. Not the dying bit, but the 'having that special someone' part.

I hate it. The loneliness is starting to get to me. Everyone I love have someone they love. Itachi and Kyuubi. Kakashi and Iruka. Ino and Chouji. Sasuke and Sakura. Do you know that feeling? When you think of something sad and your heart clenches? Seeing all the happy, _healthy_ couples hurts me. Physically, mentally and emotionally. I hate feeling depressed like this. I hate feeling lonely and needy. I hate dying. But once again I think, maybe dying is not such a bad thing. It's my escape from this pain. It's my escape from the life of sham happiness. I hate lying to everyone I love because I can't genuinely be happy for them. That I've always been jealous of their great lives. I sound like such an angsty emo although I act like everything in my life is great. This is the real me. I figured since I'm dying and all (no I'm not making light of the situation) there is no need to pretend anymore. It's not like anyone would read this anyway.

I guess I should be uncovering my past in this journal and all. Where should I start? I think I'll just make a list.

Age 1 week: Met the Uchiha brothers

Ages 1-4: Nothing of importance happened

Age 5: Met Umino Iruka

Age 6: Met Hatake Kakashi

Age 7: Realised I fell in love with Sasuke

Age 8: Parents died in crash; started cutting, no one noticed (no one cared); moped around for half a year; started going to the shrink a.k.a. Iruka

Age 9: Slapped myself mentally and physically to get life back together

Age 10: Graduated middle school

Age 11: Dated Hyuuga Neji before he turned gay

Age 12: Graduated high school

Age 13: Dated Uchiha Itachi before he turned gay for my brother

Age 14: Dated Sabaku Gaara before he turned gay for Neji

Age 15: Itachi and Kyuubi's wedding, attended as maid of honor

Age 16: Graduated university; took over parent's company

Age 17: Introduced Sasuke to Sakura; began life of constant work to drown out sorrows (better alternative to cutting); began seeing the shrink again

Age 18: Stage 2 leukemia

So yeah, that's basically the outline of my life events. Whoop-dee-do. Not the most interesting life out there. Somehow most of my relationships ended in a break-up where the guy turns gay. Not the best moments of my life. Why do I have to have such bad luck with men? The one I'm in love with doesn't think of me as anything more than a friend. The ones I actually dated hooked up with each other. Sigh. Maybe reminding myself of my tragic past is not helping me in the slightest bit.

3 Weeks Later

The doses of medicine had decreased a little now. Itachi and Kakashi had been fretting over my weight and current physical state that they're force feeding me food in a tube via IV drips to fatten me up a bit while decreasing the dosage of medication to reduce my nausea and migraines. To their great pleasure, I had regained 5kgs. Now a slightly healthier 43kgs. They were still unhappy about it, but at least I'm not anorexic right?

Itachi just told me I needed a bone marrow transplant. He added that he put me on the list when I was first diagnosed and it took nearly 2 months to maybe probably get an identical match. 'Maybe probably' was not exactly reassuring to hear, but hey, better 'maybe' than none at all. I'm an optimist that way. But when he said it'll hurt like a bitch afterwards, I was less than impressed. I had not needed that detail. At all. Now I'm scared shitless of going through with it. Then he continued to tell me that I'd be on high doses of morphine to alleviate the pain. Wow I'm going to be a healthy, yet high on drugs, and may continue to become a druggie, person again. Hopefully. If my body doesn't cruelly reject the transplanted tissue and attack it that is. I'm going to be on medication for the rest of my life. I'd be much more susceptible to getting sick and getting infection, and possibly dying because the drugs suppress and practically kill my immune system.

Err… I really don't like that prospect. There were a lot of 'maybe', 'possibly', 'hopefully' in the explanation. Thanks but no thanks. I'd rather die quickly and painlessly rather than die slowly over long periods of time. Ok, technically I'm dying slowly right now, but hey, months are most definitely shorter than years. So I had told Itachi that I didn't want the operation. And he proceeded to yell at me in an undignified manner, unbefitting to that of a doctor. I would know since I was one before this God-awful disease decided to slowly end my life for me.

Itachi sighed and put his face in his palms. "Naru-chan, I can't do this anymore."

I'm confused. Do what? I'm the one dying here and he sounds awfully much more depressed than I am. "Huh?'"

"I have to tell him."

Shit. "Who?"

"Kyuubi." He sighed.

Fuck. No. "No."

"I cant lie to him anymore. He thinks I'm cheating on him. He thinks you've gone missing. He thinks I'm cheating on him with you."

"You are giving into his usual paranoia?"

"I cant lie to him about this anymore. I have to tell him before…" He trailed off.

"Before he finds out the hard way? When he's attending my funeral? " I finished his thoughts for him.

He clenched his hands in tight fists, nails nearly piercing through the skin. Uchiha habit. Really.

"Tachi-nii-san, I can't control how much time I have left, nor can I guarantee that I can fully recover from this illness. But I don't want any more people fretting over this than there already are. I don't need people I love getting freaked out that I might die any more than necessary. I don't want them freaking out and in turn freaking me out that I'm going to die. I haven't lost the motivation to live although death does sound like a nice easy way out sometimes. I'm trying to fight for my life. I'd like for you all to have at least a little bit of faith in me." I stated rather harshly to him.

"Alright."

"If anyone is going to tell aniue, I'll be the one to do it."

His eyes widened comically, "…?"

"Nii-san, please bring aniue to visit me today. I'm ready to tell him." I smiled to Itachi.

His shock was still apparent although his expression slowly morphed into a sad smile. "Okay."

Evening

I was anxious. Super nervous. I've never been this scared in my life. My brother is about to enter my room at any minute and I'll have to tell him about my illness. This is not going to be pretty.

I heard the door slide open, and I looked towards the person standing there. Waist-length fiery red hair billowed in the breeze from the slightly opened window, he stood there holding on to the door handle with a tight vice grip, his golden eyes swirling in confusion, anger, shock and sadness. I can see right through him. He feels guilty. Angry at himself. Shocked to see me in my current state.

I smiled at him and patted on the bed, motioning him to sit next to me.

He comes over warily, as if he's trying to get out of a trance. Once he reached the bed, his shaking arms came up to cup my cheek. He's still trying to convince himself that this was all a bad dream. That none of this was true.

"N-N-Naru?" He stutters.

"Kyuu-nii." I smiled and moved into the caress of his hand on my cheek. Confirming to him that this was all real.

"W-w-why?" He stutters again. Kyuubi never stutters like this. Ever. Period. The question had many different meanings. All of which he was currently referring to but didn't dare to ask.

_Why do you look like this?_

_Why are you in the hospital?_

_Why are you sick?_

_Why didn't you tell me?_

I could see he was disappointed that I hadn't told him. So many emotions were expressed through his eyes. There's an old saying, 'the eyes are the windows to the heart'. It's so totally true. I've had the ability to read people like a book. Well, some people at least. Except for the Uchiha's of course. No disrespect, but they are a rather emotionally retarded group. That's why most of them are married to people with total polar opposite personalities to them, it balances them out.

"I didn't want to worry you aniue." I smiled at him.

His body began to quiver, I knew he was trying to hold back his tears. My brother has always been emotionally opened, he says it's his greatest weakness, also one of the reason why he's uke. He wants to act strong in front of people though. He would never show his true emotions until he was with someone close to him, like me or Itachi. I think that's why he's trying so hard not to cry.

"What is it?" He said in a shaky voice.

"Leukemia. Stage 2. I've gotten a little better though." I smiled to try to reassure him. This is why I didn't want him to know. But still Itachi was right, if I didn't tell him now and he only found out while he's at my funeral he'd have a mental breakdown again. It took him so long to fully heal from the first one. I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to hurt my precious brother.

He nods shakily. His eyes were already watery.

"Nii-san, I don't want you to worry about me. I'm not a baby anymore." I gently stroked his hair.

"You're not a baby but you're still my baby sister. I don't want to lose you too." He started sobbing onto my shoulder. "Please… don't leave me Naru. Don't leave us." He clung to me like a koala.

"I can't promise that Kyuu-nii." I sighed.

He pouted and frowned. It would look cute if the situation wasn't this serious.

"But I promise, I'm going to fight till the end." I grinned brightly at him. "I'm not going to give up that easily."

He chuckled in the midst of his crying, "That's my girl. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you since the beginning." He sighed, his crying already ended.

"It's okay Kyuu-nii." I smiled and hugged him back.

We had talked for hours, until I fell asleep from the exhaustion the meds were causing me. He stayed with me for most of the night. I had no idea that he took a peek into the journal though…


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. Thank you for the lovely reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I often get baaaad writer's block so sometimes I don't update for long periods of time. But not to worry, I'll get to it. The more reviews I get, the more I feel like continuing the story hehe =D *nudge nudge*… The story may get a little angsty at times but since it's Romance/Humor, I'll try to make it less depressing. This next chapter will be a different POV and he/she (not telling yet!) will sound very unlike themselves. There's less conversation in this one too due to the nature of the person writing it. There will be quite a bit of swearing in this chapter, also due to the nature of the character's POV. Well, enough of my ranting. Let's continue with the story…**

**Chapter 2**

~POV Change~

(A.N. I'll give you a cookie if you can guess whose POV this is before you read the whole thing :P)

Dear umm… journal?

I got you (journal) from my shrink yesterday. He told me to write about anything I want in here. Things from my past, my current life and future goals, also anything else that is of great importance to my life. That's why I've decided to write about my unrequited love towards my best friend.

It had started when I met _her._ You know? The feeling you get when you meet someone and instantly think, 'Ah, she's the one.'? I didn't know it at the time. Of course I wouldn't notice it. I was only a year and a half. But my instinct had told me that I had to protect her. To be her everything. To be possessive over her. Of course, she doesn't know.

I had asked my mother when I turned 11 about the 'symptoms' I had felt when she started dating my best friend. I briefly described to her that whenever I see either of them my chest would hurt like someone was twisting it from inside, that I would always get angry all of a sudden. It was much worse when I saw them _together_ of course. She just giggled and ruffled my hair. She told me that someday, when I'm older, I would understand. Of course now that I look back at it, it was so obvious what I had felt.

Jealousy.

The green eyed monster. Jealousy was a bitchy mistress during her 'time of the month'. And I was caught in it. Mother told me on that day that when I was younger, I used to snarl, bite and hiss at people, especially other males, except our brothers, if they ever came near her. God, I sound like I was a cobra. Or maybe a pissed off cat. But can you blame me for being so possessive? It's an Uchiha thing to do. We protect what is ours. And naturally, she's _mine_. Finders keepers, losers weepers assholes! Touch my property and suffer the wrath of the Uchiha Death Glare©.

I had become more 'bastardly' over the years, as she so eloquently put it. Well, can you blame me? She's dated so many guys right in front of my eyes and I did squat to prevent it. It didn't help that most of the guys she dated were my rivals. I had to go to therapy from all the murderous plots I had of slowly and painfully killing each and every one of them, starting with ripping off their male appendages and shoving it down their throats so they choke… ok… I better stop before I revisit my dark emo past.

Deep breaths.

In

Out

In

Out

That's better.

Moving on.

I guess I should be glad all her ex-boyfriends' rulers weren't as straight as they thought. They ended up dating each other. Eww. Not a pleasant thought. Walking in on Hyuuga and Sabaku going at it like rabbits can scar a man for life, and turn some females (like Sakura) into crazy yaoi-fangirls. Shudder.

Anyway, here's a 10 reasons why I love my kitsune:

She's kind and never judges my bastardliness even if I am a bastard. It seems like it's her favorite word to describe me. Can't blame her though. I am. I can feel it. I can't help it. It runs in the family.

She's pretty. She has long blonde hair as smooth as silk (yes, I know it's silky because used to sneak into her room and stroke her hair while she slept when we were younger. What? Don't look at me like that. It's not stalkerish! An Uchiha does not stalk people, we merely follow and observe each and every aspect of their life without their knowledge of it. Stop looking at me like that! Ooh! And her hair smells like strawberries and roses. Weird combination, I know. But I swear it smells amazing!) and clear turquoise eyes that you just drown in like the pacific ocean (I'm not a poet, so sue me if my metaphors suck). She's tall and slender, I think she'll make a great runway model (the stupid boys in school used to call her the Eiffel tower. What asses! That is no way to talk to a lady! Geez, didn't their parents teach them manners?!). There are lots more I can describe in here but I'll stop before you get all pissy reading this.

She's smart. Maybe a little too smart. For God's sakes, the girl is younger than me and she graduated when I just started going to university. I'm no dumbass! She's the one that graduated at the age of 16 with fucking Honors!

She's mine. Well not yet really but I'm planning on winning her over, now that she's stopped dating around with guys that just weren't fated to be with her. Unlike me. *Waggle eyebrows*. (God, I sound so unlike myself. If Itachi ever read this, he'd never let me live it down. Forever.)

She treats me like a normal person. Not the youngest Uchiha. But just Sasuke.

She does not act all fan-girlish around me. In fact, she actually acts a little too tomboy, only when she's around me. Calls me names and such. Not that I don't deserve it of course.

She's mine.

She can stand her own ground. She's no weakling when it comes to fighting. Physically or otherwise. She got bullied a lot when she was younger and then lost both her parents on the same day. She's mature and always keeps herself and others around her (especially me) grounded.

Because I just plain and simply love her.

Oh, and did I mention she's mine?

She had introduced me to this friend of hers that went to the same university as she did during her 17th birthday party. Her name is Haruno Sakura and she has pink hair. How ironic. Her parents must hate her. Oh well, at least it wasn't something worse like… hmm… I cant think of anything right now. She's a cool girl. Same as my kitsune. But a little (veeery) violent. Gives a mean left hook. And how can I forget her brutal strength. She gave me a bruise the size of a watermelon once when I called her 'an unstable hormonal psychopath' as a joke. She must not have a very good sense of humor. Or maybe it's just me. I swear my calling her that was completely justifiable though.

Anyway, Sakura had pulled me to the side when my kitsune had been called by her other guests. Isn't my baby just such a good hostess? Looking after her guests and all. Back to the story. Sakura had told me that Naru liked me, scratch that, _**loved**_ me ever since we were little. The pink haired girl had also told me that Naru had never told her in so many words, but Sakura saw it through her actions and how she reacted whenever she mentioned me. I was shocked that she mentioned me to people. That's why I love my baby! Anyway, Sakura had asked me to 'go out' with her, of course I protested at first. No way was I going to cheat on my kitsune! Not that we were actually dating or anything. But that's besides the point. Sakura had planned to pretend to go out with me to see how Naru would react. To see if she would be jealous. Of course she will! She's mine! And I'm hers! But of course Sakura wasn't convinced and proceeded to tell me to get my head out of the clouds and stop imagining things that weren't real. I was pissed. I was not imagining anything! Naru and I were _destined_ to be together. DESTINED I tell you!

So whatever, pinky wasn't impressed. She had bribed me into it. She told me it was a win-win-win situation. First, she needed to get her parents off her case because she didn't want to marry this guy they set her up with since she was already with someone, who unbelievable looked like me. Strange huh? I mean, come on. I'm an Uchiha for goodness sakes. We are one of a kind. Even the twins in my family are still one of a kind. A guy that looked like me? Come on! Unfortunately, I had stupidly said my thoughts out loud that led me to get a huge bump on my head from her knuckles. She even showed me his picture with them together in it being all lovey-dovey and all that jazz to prove that she wasn't making it up. Hn, he does _kinda_ look like me, only a smidgen, like his hair color and eye color. Nothing else though. Especially that fake-looking smile of his. I had also stupidly said this out loud. She sighed this time, and thank God she didn't hit me, I don't know how many million brain cells she managed to destroy with that one punch. I hope I don't become a retard from her hitting me on the head so much in the near future. But hey, what am I talking about? Me? Retard? That's totally ridiculous!

Ok. I have strayed from my topic yet again. She told me his name was Sai and that he is 'socially-challenged' and 'emotionally-retarded', she even had the girl-balls to say 'just like you, Sasuke'. Can you believe this chick? Anyway, Sai was a couple of years older than her, by the way, she was a genius, just like my baby, so I wasn't surprised when she told me that he was older and they met in college. Apparently the man had moved to France to study design and architecture or whatever, so he won't be able to come back for quite a while. Her parents on the other hand forced her to bring him over in the following week or she'll be forced to marry a kind yet fashionably-challenged man. She said he was nice and all but she didn't love him and he was so into youth or whatever that he drover her insane within less than a minute talking to the man. She showed me his picture and E-E-W. Bowl-cut hair, giant caterpillar eyebrows and a fucking green leotard?! Shudder. Wow. I'm glad to help her any day.

She said that it's a win for her so she can get out of the arranged marriage, a win for me so I can win Naru's heart and a win for Naru to finally confess how she felt towards me. From what I can incur at the time, there was absolutely nothing that could possibly go wrong with this plan.

Oh how wrong I was.

One Year Later

Its been .YEAR!

My kitsune has been fucking AVOIDING me! For a .YEAR! Lucky for pinky, she's managed to clear up her mess with her parents and has successfully smuggled Sai into living with her. Of course her parents went up the wall at _that_ suggestion. So pinky decided to do something even more ridiculously stupid. She blurted out to her parents that _**I **_would be living with them, so there was _**no way**_ I would let them do anything like _that_. Tch. Yeah right, like I give a crap about their sexual activities. Which reminds me. I NEED thicker walls. Shudder. I do NOT need to hear what they do in their private time.

While she's having 'fun' with her fiancé all the time, I am stuck here STILL without my kitsune. I want my foxy baby! Pout. Very un-Uchiha-like, I know. But I don't care. ..NOW! I saw the look on her face when we told her we were 'going out'. It was one of her fake smiles again while saying 'congratulations' and then walked away from us. Since then she never wanted to meet up with either of us if it wasn't for business or anything important. She had invited us to her birthday too, it wasn't until yesterday did I find out that Kyuubi was the one who sent out the invitations. Great. She hates my guts.

We had somehow (thankfully) managed to convince her to come to lunch with us today. Sakura had been worried. Well, of course I have too, but since I'm still studying and not working in the hospital with her, I didn't know what was going on with her. Sakura told me the other day that Naru hasn't shown up for work for a few weeks now. The last time she saw Naru, she had apparently looked terrible. Sakura had told me that Naru was working overtime all the time. Every time Sakura came to work, Naru was already there, working and every time she was going home, Naru was still working. But now, Naru didn't show up at work at all. I'm worried about her.

Great, pinky's here to disrupt my train of thought.

"What is it Sakura?"

"We should do that _thing_ we practiced today, before she comes in."

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you fucking crazy? Do you want her to hate me more than she already does?"

"Just trust me about this Sasuke. It'll work, trust me!" Pinky wailed.

"Maybe you should go with Sakura on this one Sasuke-san." That little faker butted in. Fucker.

"Hn. Are you sure about that?"

Pinky nodded eagerly like a happy dog, wagging its tail.

I sighed dejectedly. This is going to be the last thing they make me do. This is stupid. "Fine. But if it doesn't go well, I'm outta here."

"Ok!" She jumped up and down. She went to her room and grabbed a piece of paper. Holy crap she wrote a bloody script?!

She handed me the sheet of paper. I looked down at it. Oh fuck no, I'm NOT going to say that! And like always I voiced my thoughts out loud.

"Oh come on Sasuke. Just think of the _other_ innuendo for the first one and pretend you're saying the second line _to her_." Pinky shrugged.

Line: _"Fuck Naru"_ Hmm… Fuck Naru indeed… Ok, stopping that train of thought before I get embarrassingly hard down there in front of _these two_.

Line: _"I want you now"_ I've been wanting Naru for much longer than that. Smirk. But we'll wait. Until we're married of course. Which won't be long from now. Hn. I've already planned our honeymoon. We'll go to her favorite place, the one she's been saving up to go to for her honeymoon…

"…uke"

And we'll stay in the biggest, most luxurious suite with the best view on the whole island…

"…suke"

And we'll stay there for 3 weeks. One of which we won't even leave the room at all. Hn. Smirks. And then…

"Sasuke"

… we'll tour around the island. We'll be inseparable…

"Sasuke"

And we'll take long walks on the beach…

"SASUKE!"

"WHAT?!" Damn pinky. I was having such a great daydream too.

"Geez, what did you daydream about this time? Wait, hold that thought. I don't think I want to know."

"Is there a point to you interrupting my thoughts?"

"She's going to be here soon."

"Oh."

Well, this is it. All or nothing. And I have a veeeery bad feeling about this.

30 Minutes Later

That did not go as planned. At all. Just as I expected. Naru's pissed. I know it. We could hear her footsteps down the hallway. The walls in this apartment complex were thin enough that you can hear anything and everything. Damn and it's a condo too. Aren't condo's supposed to be private and all that jazz? Thick walls so you can't hear unwanted noises?

I was getting frustrated. It's been 5 minutes since we heard her footsteps away from our door and into the elevator. 5 loooong agonizing minutes. Pinky told me to wait. So like the idiotic genius I am, I waited. Then I snapped.

"Sakura that's it! I can't just sit here and wait anymore. I'm going down." I grabbed my coat, keys and cell phone that was on the table. I slammed the door behind me and hurriedly checked my phone. No messages. No missed calls. Nothing. She really has been avoiding me. Damn.

I was angry now. I didn't know why the feeling suddenly emerged. I was angry and I wanted answers.

_Why are you avoiding me?_

_What did I do wrong?_

_Do you feel the same about me as I do about you?_

_Can we be together?_

_What are you hiding from me?_

I gripped the phone in my hand a little tighter. I'm tired of waiting and I'm getting my answers now.

Back at the apartment

Sakura sighed as a smile crept on her face. Sai came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I thought he'd never get off his butt and chase her."

"You are a bad influence Sakura."

"Well, the guy needs a push. He's as emotionally-challenged as you were when I first met you."

"Hmm… that's true. They'll be happy together. Just like we are." He smiled at her, genuinely this time.

And we return to where Sasuke and Naru are…

Lobby

I tried to mask my irritation to the max. I don't think it's working. Iruka, the guy that works at the reception and my therapist is giving me this weird look. The man has so many jobs. Wonder how he does it. I sighed and walked silently towards Naru who was staring out the window. I took out my cell and called her. Don't ask why. I can see even hear the phone buzzing from where I was standing, but she was still daydreaming. When I reached her I poked her shoulder to get her attention.

She practically leaped from her seat, well, no she didn't, but she did jump from shock. I could have sworn I saw her wince. Hn. Strange. "Why are you so jumpy?" I asked her and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Really? Ahaha, I just didn't notice you were here that's all." She's lying. She's doing that thing she does when she gets nervous or when she's lying. She rubbed the back of her neck and was practically anime-sweat-dropping. She's hiding something. I know it. I looked discreetly at her shoulder. Holy fucking hell! Is that a fucking hickey on her collar bone?! Wait a minute. It wasn't there a second ago. I could have sworn it wasn't there! Could it be? It was because I poked her?

"When did you get here?" I frowned.

"Oh, I just arrived a few minutes ago." She's lying again. Definitely hiding something from me.

"Why didn't you call us then?" I raised an eyebrow.

'**Us**'. She clearly winced at hearing me say 'us'. Oh. Is it because of pinky's stupid script? "Oh, I just wanted to catch up with Iruka-sensei." Lying. Again. Definietely from the script. Damn it I'm going to kill that bitch! She screwed me over! Hn. How should I kill her? Tie her up and dump her in the ocean? Sell her internal organs in the black market? Maybe I should… WAIT! Naru's waiting for a reply. I'll get back to Planning the Murder of Haruno SakuraTM later. Maybe I'll even make a movie out of it. Hn.

"Then why aren't you talking to him?" My baby is such a bad liar. Hn. Makes it easier for me to pry the information out of her.

"Teme, he needs to get back to work you know? Why are you asking so many questions anyway? Geez, what are you, the police?!" She's pretending to get angry. Hn. Cute.

"Hn. Whatever. Are we going to lunch or not?"

'**We'**. She flinched again. Can't she see that I mean 'me and her' us and not 'me and pinky' us?

Ah.

I see.

My baby's jealous.

Hn.

Cute.

"About that…" She's trying to weasel her way out of our date? Hn. Not gonna happen.

"What? Don't tell me you have to cancel?" I challenged her.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do." She seems to genuinely seem a little pissed now.

"Why?" Another challenge. Why do I love pushing her buttons so much? Ah. Yes, because her angry expression is also cute. Hn. Internal smirk.

"Because…" Aww... Cute. She's trying (and failing) to find excuses to cancel the date. As I said already. Ain't gonna happen.

"Because she has an appointment to go to which is coincidentally close to this condo complex, Sasuke-san." Iruka finished for her. Damn him! Stop trying to ruin my date!

"Yeah, what he said."

"Then why can't you finish the sentence yourself?"

"Seriously, Sasuke, you're being unusually nosy today." She's getting more annoyed. "What I do is not your business." She's actually angry now. "Why don't you tend to your **girlfriend**'s problems instead of prying into mine?" She spat the word out like it was venom. Definitely jealous. Yesh! I have a chance. Hn. "If you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to." She started walking out, but I grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She's wincing. Like she's in pain. I didn't mean to be rough though. She's trying to get my hand off her wrist, but she seems to be in pain. For some reason her wrist is starting to feel a little tender, maybe even getting swollen. She successfully yanked her wrist out of my grip. I wasn't even holding on to it that hard. She's trying to cover it up. I saw though it though. It's bruised. Again. Wasn't there before I grabbed it.

"What is your problem Naru?!" I spat out. SHE'S HIDING SOMETHING FROM ME! TELL ME ALREADY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!

I think my eyes are twitching. She knows I'm angry.

"What the hell is your problem, Uchiha? I come here to tell you nicely that I can't attend your stupid lunch meeting and you question me like you're a fucking detective." She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Whatever. We both know you would rather be somewhere else right now, and I have somewhere to get to. Goodbye Sasuke." She had turned her back on me again and started walking.

"Naru!" Give me an explanation!

_Where have you been?_

_What are you hiding from me?_

_Why are you still avoiding me?_

She stopped in front of the heavy glass doors, gripping the door handle like she needed to hold it for support. She looked back at me again, "Goodbye Sasuke." She smiled sadly before exiting, there was even a taxi waiting for her outside. How convenient. Must have been the dolphin. He probably called the cab company in the middle of our ranting.

She got in the cab without a second glance back at me. The taxi started to drive away. I clenched my fist in anger. Iruka must know what's going on. I'll ask him and get my answers whether he wants to tell me or not.

I turned to face my therapist.

"Iruka, what is going on?" I asked him coldly.

"What do you mean Sasuke?"

He's faking innocence. Hn. He definitely knows something I don't. "Don't play dumb Iruka. What's going on with Naru?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself Sasuke?"

I clenched my hair in frustration. Stupid therapists and their stupid confidentiality agreements. "Damn it Iruka! Stop helping her push me away!" I snapped. Uchiha Sasuke had finally snapped.

The scarred man looked at me in confusion. "Sasuke what are you talking about? You're the one that pushed her away from you when you told her you were dating Sakura remember?"

"It was a lie! It was just a cover-up! Sakura's fiancé is living in the same condo for goodness sakes! I'm only the 'bodyguard'." I can't shut up. I can't stop the words coming out of my mouth. I guess this is what people call 'word-vomit'. Damn.

"Wait. A cover-up?"

Gah! This is frustrating. I sighed. "To make her jealous."

"…?"

"I'm in love with her."

"…!" Iruka's eyes widened.

"But she doesn't feel the same way. Or at least that's what I thought. Sakura was helping me. She told me that Naru liked me too, but she never showed it or anything." I sighed again.

"Sakura had good intentions then. Something happened just now didn't it? When Naru came back downstairs I mean."

"She gave me this stupid script to read. She told me to read it out when we knew she was standing in front of the door. It was bad."

"…"

"Really bad."

"Ah. I see. Still, Sakura had good intentions though."

"What are you talking about? She completely destroyed our (Sasuke and Naru's) relationship. Naru hates my guts now!"

Iruka sighed, "That wasn't what she meant."

"What do you mean?"

"She's trying to push you."

"Push me?"

"To tell Naru your feelings. It's obvious that she wouldn't confess first. She thinks you hate her. I know I'm breaking confidentiality but you need to know. She has always felt you hated her. Especially since she started dating. Obviously she didn't know that you were just jealous. If I can say so myself, the two of you are not the brightest crayons in the box when it comes to telling each other your feelings." He sighed again, "Well, whatever you choose to do, you better tell her the truth. Fast. Time is running out Sasuke."

What the heck is he talking about? He's been corrupted by that perverted doctor boyfriend of his. Talking in riddles. Tch.

"I would ask Itachi if I were you." He whispered as though he didn't want me to hear. But I did of course. I'm an Uchiha. We have good hearing. Hn. (I know. My family has an ego larger than the size of the universe. Don't tell anyone I admitted it though.)

Ask Itachi? What the heck? Ask him what? "Excuse me?"

"Ah. I said I better get going." He smiled. Hn. It was meant as a Morse code. Smart man. Not breaking confidentiality that way is he? Hn.

Iruka left the desk when his replacement came. I took out my cell and searched my phone book.

Hmm let's see

H…

I…

J…

K…

L…

M…

N…

O…

P…

Q… (What? I have friends with names that start with Q!)

R…

S…

Sa…

Ah.

Here we go.

Satan.

What? Making a deal with Itachi is equivalent to making a deal with the prince of darkness himself.

It's ringing…

"_Hello little brother, to what do I owe this pleasure?"_

See?

Devil.

"Hn. Itachi. We need to talk."

"_Oh? Sasuke, you sound like we're about to break up or something. Hn."_

That little fucker.

"I don't have time for your bullshit Itachi. What's going on with Naru?"

"_What do you mean otoutou?"_

He's smirking on the other line. I can feel it.

"She seems… different from her usual self. And she bruised like a fucking peach when I poked her."

"_Hmm… Is that so? Why are you asking me though otoutou? Shouldn't you be asking her?"_

"I was told by a little birdie to ask you. And also Naru hates me too much to tell me herself now."

"_Should I dare ask?"_

"Don't bother."

"_Hn. Very well. I can't tell you exactly what you want to hear but all I can say is that time is running out, and considering her stubbornness, you probably have even less time. If you want to know exactly what is going on with her, I suggest you do your research properly on your own."_

Is he asking me to stalk her?

Oh God, why o why do I have to be stuck with people who constantly talk in fucking riddles?!

"Hn."

"_If that is all, I'm getting back to work. One of my patients has just arrived, and it looks like she has a very bad bruise on her left wrist. Hmm… interesting. Jaa, otoutou."_

Why the hell is he telling me about…

Oh.

I see.

3 Weeks Later

It's been 3 weeks since I stared stalking her. And I have no leads. All I know is that the first week, Naru never left her apartment at all. Then the second week she was just gone. Disappeared. I tried looking for her everywhere I could think of. And still nothing. I asked pinky and she said Naru hasn't been in for work during that time either. It didn't help that I had my final graduating exams and my thesis paper was due during that time either. So I haven't really looked for her _everywhere_ yet. I had just finished the last one today. I'm meeting up with Itachi tonight to ask him _yet again_. Face to face this time. So if he doesn't tell me I can bash that pretty face of his. Hn. Kyuubi won't be pleased. What? I can take my brother on! I can beat him in a fight! I can… Oh alright. I'll _try_ to bash that pretty face of his.

Little did I know at the time, Kyuubi won't be pleased _at all_ tonight.

And not because I beat up his hubby.

**A.N. Alright! That's it for chapter 2! Yet another cliffhanger! Aren't I just swell? What's going to happen in the next chapter? Hmm… well you'll just have to wait and see wont you? Please review! I would like feedback especially since this chapter is a little different in style compared to the first chapter! I will **_**try**_** to update as soon as possible but I don't promise anything since my holiday break is over for now and I will have to go back to uni *sob*. We only had one week break too! *sob sob* Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!! =D**

**Until next time!~**

**XOXO**

**Natsumi**


	3. Chapter 3

Kyuubi was angry.

No.

Livid.

Homicidal even.

He set the diary back on the side table, where he had picked it up from. His hand was shaking in anger. He should get out of here before he breaks something and wake his dying baby sister up.

Dying.

He hated that word with a passion.

He had already lost his parents, he didn't need his beloved sister leaving him too. Maybe he was being selfish. Not wanting to be left behind. Maybe it was just the fact that he couldn't handle the prospect of losing her too. He had always known his sister's emo habits. The angst. The cutting. And everything else in between. He just never mentioned it to her to allow her some privacy. The only thing he could give her was his love and support and telling Iruka to help with his psychiatric abilities.

And now all that effort has left him with this.

So many things ran through his mind.

_Why did she never mention any of this to me?_

_Does she not trust me anymore?_

_Why must that emo brother-in-law of mine be so fucking blind?!_

He sighed deeply as he closed the sliding door behind him. Why did everything have to be so damn difficult? He flinched as he felt arms wound around his waist, breaking his train of thought. The owner of said arms rested his head on Kyuubi's shoulder, burying his nose in the crook of the red head's neck.

"This is why she didn't want to tell you, baby." The deep voice rumbled.

"But 'Tachi, I'm really worried about her." Kyuubi sighed.

"She's a strong girl Kyuu. You know she's just as stubborn as you are. There is no shaking her foundations." Itachi chuckled.

"Yeah. It's in the family. Just like you Uchiha's and your stupid monosyllabic-ness." He pouted.

"That's not even a word, Kyuu. Besides, you're an Uchiha too now." He chuckled as his uke husband attempted to glare holes into his skull. _Please, Uchiha's __**invented**__ the death glare._ He mentally laughed.

"Your brother is a stupid stupid man. A stupid _dead_ man if I see him now." Kyuubi crossed his arms and pouted childishly.

"I know. He's undeniably retarded when it comes with human relations."

"Yes. Yes he certainly is."

"I think he's coming here soon."

"Took him 3 months to realize something was wrong? _3 moths?!_" The redhead turned around and practically shouted to his seme, still in Itachi's grip.

"Shh, baby, this is a hospital."

"3 fucking months?!" He whispered.

Itachi smiled. He still couldn't believe that this strong redhead could be so unbelievably cute and innocent sometimes. And he even had the privilege of being his husband too. Itachi brushed a lock of hair that was covering Kyuubi's face. "It would have taken longer if I hadn't hinted, more like practically told him, where she was and what was going on though. I know my baby brother, just like you know Naru-chan. We may not be able to read their minds or know everything they've been through, but you and I practically raised them."

"…"

"He'll come around. I'm sure the whole Sakura-thing was only a plan to get Naru-chan jealous."

"How do you know?"

"Sakura is not exactly the most discreet person when it comes to talking about her lover. From her description, it may have seemed to be describing Sasuke, but she slipped his name by accident once. Sai, I think it was."

"Sai? As in _the _Sai, the youngest and most famous painter in Japan?"

"I think so."

"Hmm…"

"Go home, Kyuu. You've been up on your feet all day. Go home and get some rest."

"Alright, alright." He sighed.

Maybe skinning Sasuke alive could wait.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sasuke trudged his way to his brother's office. He wanted explanations and he wanted them now. He was sick of being kept in the dark about what was going on.

He knocked on the door impatiently. After a series of unanswered knocks, he decided it would be a better idea to roam the hallways to search for him instead of waiting here. Sasuke may not give a rat's ass about his aniki's life, but he was smart enough to know Itachi wasn't the type to stay in his office doing paperwork all day when he could go torture his numerous patients. What a sadistic bastard.

Sasuke started his journey down the hallway. He noticed Itachi's assistant, the platinum blonde nurse… uhh… what was her name again? Uno? Oni? No, definitely not. What kind of parent would name their daughter 'demon'? Hmm… Ah, screw it, he couldn't remember.

Oh wait! There's a name tag! Saved by the tag!

Now to zero in on the name printed on the tag…

I…

Ino.

Ah! Ino!

Sasuke cleared his throat to catch her attention. The cloned nurse turned to the source of the cough.

"Ah! Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here? Are you looking for someone?" She smiled.

"Hn"

It seemed like she remembered something bad as her smile faltered, "Ah, I see. Come with me."

Sasuke was confused. Why the heck does she look so grim while bringing him to his brother? Is visiting Itachi _that_ bad? Geez, it was like marching down the path to hell or something. Ah. Totally understandable.

Sasuke was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice where Ino was taking him until she spoke, breaking his chain of thought.

"Here we are." She smiled with one of those I'm-sorry-for-your-loss professional sad smiles.

Then he finally noticed it.

The plaque on the door.

_Oncology Department_

_Private Recovery Wing_

_Room 3765_

_Namikaze Naruko – Patient_

Oncology?

Recovery?

PATIENT?!

What. The. Fuck?!

_What the heck was going on?! Is this some kind of sick joke?! I swear to God, if this is some kind of prank Itachi pulled, I'm gonna kill that asshole!_

Sasuke frowned, his menacing aura easily detected within a fifty mile radius. Ino seemed to obviously notice it too. Crap. Maybe Naruko wasn't the person Sasuke was looking for. But she had heard from her many… _sources_ that Naru and Sasuke had been in love with each other for the longest time, but for some strange reason, both of these geniuses were retards when it came to noticing the other's feeling. Hence the two idiots were still not together as a couple. Oh well, this ought to give them the push they need.

"She may still be asleep. She just had another dose of chemo and very heavily drugged with morphine. So if she does anything weird, just remember what I told you." Ino pat his shoulder, urging him to enter the dimly lit private ward.

Sasuke allowed the blonde to nudge him through the doorway. If it wasn't for the push, Sasuke honestly didn't think he would dare to take a step in to the room, for fear of what he might see. For fear of seeing what he was imagining becoming reality.

He cautiously approached the bed, and lo and behold, there Naru lay. He carefully sat on the bed on her left side and saw the bruising on her left wrist. He winced as he looked at it. Was it really him that had put the bruise there? For confirmation, he checked her shoulder, where he had tapped her. There was a nasty bruise there too. He finally came to a conclusion. There was only one condition that can leave excessive bruising with the slightest touch.

_Leukemia._

But how long had she had it for? Why didn't she bother to tell him? The thought of her leaving him for dead was too much for poor Sasuke. His eyes were welling up with tears that he refused to let drop. It had been too long since he cried. He carefully picked up her hand and kissed it gently.

"I'm so sorry Naru." He whispered as he brushed her hair away from her face.

"I shouldn't have gone with Sakura's stupid plan and just tell you the truth since the very beginning."

_Drip_

"Please. Please don't leave me." He clawed the bed sheets in desperation as he tried to hold back his tears.

_Drip_

_Drip_

"I love you. So much. So please don't leave me. I know it's selfish of me. But please don't leave me alone again. I don't want to be alone again." He cried profusely, not noticing that the blonde was awake.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Naru felt heavy, like her whole body was made of lead. Wasn't morphine supposed to make you feel weightless and painfree? Or maybe it was just her heart?

She could hear Sasuke's voice in the back of her mind. He was saying everything she had always wanted him to say. Was it just her? Or was he really there, saying those words to her in her drug-induced state?

She tried to open her eyes, of course they felt like lead too, so she opened them slowly and only to half mast. She focused her vision as best she could. The first thing she saw was Sasuke clutching desperately on the sheets while he held her left hand gently and crying like a baby.

He must have figured it out. Wasn't hard to anyway. Everyone would have noticed it sooner or later.

_I guess this way is better. To be able to say goodbye before I leave._

Naru was never one to think grimly, but in her circumstance, the chance of her surviving was slim. Yes, she was getting better, but how long can the chemo keep her alive? She was a test subject for a new and improved therapy. It may not have the usual side effects, but what if the real side effects were much worse than the traditional chemotherapy?

Her body was still a ticking time bomb. She should at least tell the guy how she felt. It's not everyday that you can get Uchiha Sasuke crying like this while confessing his love for you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sasuke was busy trying (and failing) to keep his tears at bay that he didn't notice Naru's other hand moving until it caressed his cheeks, wiping the tears away.

He looked up abruptly to see Naru awake, if only just, and smiling at him.

How can she forgive him so easily?

"Naru…" He whispered.

"Don't cry Sasu." She whispered back. Her voice a little strained from the lack of use.

"Naru…" He whispered again to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"I love you too." She said with a smile on her face, before the hand on his cheek dropped and her eyes closed.

_Beep beep beep_

No.

This was not happening.

NO!

Everything happened so fast. One second she was talking to him, the next she was in cardiac arrest. The nurses, Ino included, had rushed in the room, with a worried looking Itachi trailing just behind them with the defibrillator paddles.

Ino had to practically yank Sasuke away from Naru to get him to stand up. Sasuke was just staring at the nearly lifeless body on the bed in shock.

"No…" He whispered.

"No" He repeated in a slightly louder voice.

"NO!" He shouted, trying to get out of Ino's restraint. Boy, why are all the females he knows so damn strong?

"Get him out of here!" He could hear Itachi shout as he charged up the paddles.

_Ring_

"Clear"

Sasuke could hear the electricity rushing into her body as it practically made her jump from the bed.

Still no good.

"Clear"

His world was spinning. He didn't know if it was because he was being pushed out of the room like a rag doll or from his denial of the situation. The next thing he remembered was his butt thudding on the chair outside the room.

He heard footsteps coming his way. Rushed and angry so it seemed. He was yanked by his collar by the owner of said feet.

"This is all your fault!" His brother-in-law screamed at him.

_Yes. It is._

"If you weren't such a fucking chicken, she wouldn't have worked herself to death!" He yelled while shaking him.

_It was all my fault._

"I swear to God Sasuke, if she dies, I'm going to pommel you to an unidentifiable pulp!" Kyuubi said in a shaky voice. He hung his head low as he started to sob. "Besides you and Itachi, she's all I have." He said in a whisper.

_She's all I have too._

"She's all I have" Kyuubi repeated in a quieter voice. It was barely a whisper.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Itachi couldn't even count how many times he had zapped her. It had been more than 5 minutes. He had been praying hard so she wouldn't die.

_This is the last try. Please, please don't die._

Itachi set the charged paddles on her chest one last time.

_Beep beep beep_

Itachi had always been a pessimist about 'bringing the dead back to life'. He never really believed in miracles that defied science. Until today. Maybe it was because her patient was someone he loved. Maybe because miracles can happen.

Itachi has never been a devout when it comes to believing in God. Sure enough he respected the presence of God. But in his life, there had been only a few things he had prayed for. Selfish things really. Of course they had not been answered. Also until today. All his prayers over the past years had been about himself. Except for this one.

_Please God, give her another chance at life. My stupid baby brother had just told her how he felt too. Please give them a chance._

Itachi had not been eavesdropping. No he hasn't! It wasn't his fault he had great hearing. It wasn't his fault he could hear a pin drop in the middle of a war. No it isn't. So, no, he wasn't eavesdropping.

He sighed in relief as he placed the paddles back on the trolley. Thank God indeed. He looked over her monitors. Heart rate was good, breathing is fine, brain waves are in a coma state. Wait a second! Rewind! Brain waves in a coma state?! Well at least she wasn't brain dead, or _dead_ at all. What kind of sick and twisted plot is this?!

Great. Now he has to go tell the desperate Sasuke and the ever so temperamental Kyuubi who are both bawling like babies out there that she wasn't dead but in a coma.

Itachi sighed as he started heading for the door.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke and Kyuubi waited patiently in front of the room. It was a strange sight to behold. They were clutching each other like the other was their only lifeline, crying like babies.

These usually stoic and proud men have been reduced to a pile of crying mush. Itachi shook his head as he watched the interaction between his husband and little brother who were usually at each other's throats. He cleared his throat to get their attentions. They both jumped out of their reverie and when they realized the position they were in.

"H-how is she?" Sasuke whispered, trying his best to not sound shaky.

"She's alive."

The two let out a sigh of relief.

"But…"

The men visibly flinched.

"She's in a coma."

Kyuubi and Sasuke's eyes widened at the news.

"Her brain function is fine, but it's as if her body is forcing her to go into a coma. Possibly to fix the cancer. I'm not certain at this point. Only time will tell."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

1 Month Later

Sasuke practically opted to live in the hospital since _that_ day. Of course Sasuke _obviously_ got the top results for his exams and got an internship in the hospital Naru was in straight away. He had been doing over time for the entire month since he got the internship. When he had his break, he would go sleep in either the bunk rooms for the staff or in Naru's ward.

He was getting restless. It had been a fucking MONTH since she went into a coma. He had never felt this anxious in his life. And it was seriously getting to him.

He approached the bed slowly and set himself on the bed, one hand holding hers, the other stroking her now pale face.

"Please come back soon. I miss you. We all miss you. Come back soon, Naru. I love you." He whispered to her motionless body and kissed her forehead gently.

He looked at her left wrist. The dark blue bruise now mostly gone, the left over bruise now only a pink tinge. Maybe Itachi was right. Maybe the coma was her body's way of telling her to take a break and let it heal itself.

Sasuke sighed as he stroked her golden locks.

"I'll be waiting for you… for as long as it takes. Get better soon. I love you." He smiled sadly.

He kissed her hand one last time before retreating out of the room, ready to start his rounds for the night.

**A.N.**

**Oh no! Gasp!~ What will happen next? Will Naru ever wake up from her coma? Or will the authoress kill her off… (Unlikely, but hey, I may be in a cruel mode, who knows…) **

**Well there you have it! 3****rd**** installment of the Journal series. Sorry it took so long to write and it's so short. I've been busy with tons of studying and exams and tests and yadda yadda yadda. Yes, I realize this chapter is a little angsty and if the writing style is a little off, please forgive me… =( It's been a while since I wrote and since I am a health sciences major, it kinda contributed A LOT to my getting rusty at writing fanfics. But it's no excuse! **

**Anyway, I will really appreciate your comments and thoughts about the story so far, so please REVIEW and I will try to write the next one as soon as I can!! **

**Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the lovely reviews. I had one person ask me to kill Naru off, to make it more dramatic and angsty and I've taken it into account. I thought I'll go along those lines but not as tragic as that. I'm very happy that my writing can touch you readers to cry like a baby. I hope you all enjoy Chapter 4! **

**Please REVIEW after reading if you can. I know many of you have put this story on Story Alert and Favorites but it would be really nice if you can post a comment to tell me if you enjoyed reading it and make any comments regarding the style of writing or the mood of the story. As a writer, I can only improve if you give me some feedback on my work so far.**

**As per usual for the formalities, the disclaimers are as such: I do not own any Naruto characters. This fictional work is the only thing that's mine.**

**Without further ado, I give you…**

Chapter 4

6 Months Later

Persistent coma.

Naru had been in a coma for more than 7 months now. It is officially a persistent coma. Usually by this time, the family of the patient would have to decide on whether or not they should pull the plug on their beloved.

Itachi, Sasuke and Kyuubi sighed deeply. They have no idea what to do. Of course they didn't want to lose Naru, but then again, wouldn't it be a good thing to put her out of her misery? Does she even want that?

Itachi and Kyuubi left the room to give Sasuke time to think about pulling the plug. In the end, even though Kyuubi was the closest blood relative to Naru, it was Sasuke who would be broken if she died.

Sasuke walked towards the bed cautiously as he always did and sat down on the bed. He held her hand and caressed her cheek as per usual.

"Please. _Please_ wake up. Please! You have to wake up! They want us to pull the plug on you. I can't let them! So please, please wake up!" Sasuke pleaded the lifeless body of the blonde in desperation.

"Please Naru! Wake up! WAKE UP!" He yelled.

"Please…" He whispered in defeat.

"_Sasu"_

"Please… don't leave me."

"_Sasu"_

"I can't stand it. Being without you. I can't imagine what I would do if you died."

_Drip_

"_Sasuke"_

"So please, wake up. Please wake up."

_Drip, drip_

"_Sasuke"_

Sasuke was too busy in his angst that he didn't hear the voice calling out to him. He had brushed it off as his imagination. That he was hearing her voice because he missed her so much, it was stabbing through his soul like a knife.

Not until the soft hand that he clearly remembered, stroking his cheek, brushing away his tears.

Sasuke didn't know whether to scream in joy or to scream in shock.

"Naru?"

She smiled gently at him.

"Naru" He whispered as he leaned down and hugged her tightly. He could feel her shaky-from-the-lack-of-use arms wrap around him gently too.

"I'm here. I'm awake." She whispered, her voice raw and croaky.

"I thought you were going to leave us. Leave me."

"I'm here." She repeated, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

He kept quiet.

"Congratulations, Uchiha-hakase."

Sasuke abruptly leaped out of the hug, staring wide eyed at the smirking blonde.

"Hey, I may have been in a coma but that doesn't mean I couldn't hear people talking around me." She spoke quietly. "So yeah, congratulations _doctor_." She smiled.

"H-how are you feeling?"

"I've never felt better in my life. Like I just woke up from the best sleep of my life actually." She slowly sat up and stretched the kinks out of her joints.

"A-ah. Is that so? I'll go call Itachi now."

"Could you get me a glass of water while you're out? Sorry, I don't mean to be all bossy or anything." She nervously scratched her head.

Naru's smile faded right after Sasuke was out of sight. How long had she been out? She really does feel much better than she's ever been. It felt like a whole chunk of her life had been cut out.

She shut her eyes and clutched her head as a wave of pain hit her. The pain was getting stronger and stronger, like her head was being split open. It took all her strength to not scream out in agony. And then all of a sudden, the pain just… stopped. Completely.

She opened her eyes and tried to focus.

'_White walls… I'm on a bed.' _She looked down at herself and found that she was wearing a hospital gown._ 'Why am I wearing a hospital gown?'_

She didn't notice Sasuke reappearing at her door with Itachi by his side. Nor did she notice that they were staring at her with wide eyes because she was too busy trying to find out what was going on.

"Naru?" Sasuke whispered.

Her head snapped up at the owner of the voice.

"Is everything alright?"

'_Naru? Who's that? Is he talking to me?'_

She didn't answer and just opted for a confused frown.

The one with short spiky hair turned to the one with long hair with a frown on his face. He whispered something like _"Please tell me it's not what I think it is."_ Or something like that. It was too far for her to hear. The spiky-haired one looked angry.

'_Did I do something to upset him? But I've never met him before in my life.'_

The one with long hair seemed to share the frown of his brother (?). They looked alike, they must be related in some way.

'_This awkward silence is really killing me. The tension is so thick, not even a chainsaw can cut through it.'_

"Why am I in a hospital? Am I sick?" She gasped with a dry throat.

She frowned and touched her throat. Why was her throat so sore? Why is it so painful to speak? Has she really been in the hospital for a long time or something?

"Why is my throat so sore?"

The two ravens were busy frowning and glaring at the wall beside her to answer her. They were just too livid to give her a decent reply at the moment. They've waited this long and now she wakes up and doesn't remember anything or anyone?! What kind of sick and twisted reality is this?! Is this a soap opera or something?! Huh? HUH? HUH??!!!

"Doctor?"

Still no reply but now the glare has shifted direction to her face.

"You're both doctors right? Ah, and you're holding a glass of water." She pointed to the glass in the younger raven's hand.

The younger raven clutched the glass tighter in his hand. If he squeezed any harder the glass might just shatter.

"May I have it?" She asked.

His eye twitched as he grit his teeth while mechanically turning his head to glare at the older one. The older gave a dejected sigh. The younger's glare softened to a sad and almost heartbroken look as he stepped towards her bed and gave her the glass of water.

"Thank you." She smiled at the younger doctor when he gave her the glass.

After she finished drinking and set her glass down, the elder doctor came up to the other side of the bed from his mini-me.

"We need to run a few tests on you."

She cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"You've been in a coma for 7 months."

Her eyes widened. "S-se-seven months?!"

"Do you mind if we ask some procedural questions?"

Her eyes were still wide in shock but she shook her head anyway.

"Can you tell me where this is?"

"A hospital."

"I mean what city is this?"

"Ummm… I can't remember."

The younger one seemed to have visibly flinched from her answer.

"Ok, next. Can you tell me what date today is approximately?"

"I… I don't know."

"What's your name?"

'_My name? My name is… My name is…' _She frowned in frustration. Why couldn't she remember her name? Her own name!

"I… I don't know." Tears from her aggravation pooled in her eyes as she gripped the bed sheets. "I can't remember anything." She said in a bare whisper. "Why can't I remember anything?" It was more of a question for herself, but it did leave all three of them puzzled too.

"Do you remember me at all?" The younger butted in.

She looked up at the man and studied his face to find some form of his feature that she could recognize. Who was this man? Was he someone important to her? Was she supposed to remember him? Or even know him at all? She frowned as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't recognize you at all." She bowed her head in defeat.

The younger was on the verge of tears. He was trying to flee the premises before he broke down it seems.

"I see. I'll leave you to my brother's care then. He is your doctor after all. If you'll excuse me…" The spiky-haired male said quietly as he bowed and left the room in quite a hurry.

After he was gone, she looked at the long haired male who was supposed to be her doctor.

"I'm sorry I can't remember anything. But was he someone important to me?" She asked him with a serious look.

"Yes." The man replied solemnly with a sad smile plastered on his face. "He was indeed."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke was heartbroken.

He had rushed to his office as fast as he could before he was to break down completely in public. He quickly shut his door and locked it. He leaned on the door as he slid down the cherry wood as the tears that had pooled slid down his porcelain face.

After all that time.

Waiting.

Praying.

And when she had woken up, she had even returned his feelings

"_I love you too."_

He remembered it was what she had told him, the last thing she said, before she went into a coma.

And now after 7 months of waiting anxiously and monitoring her day and night, she had finally woken up, only to find out that she had amnesia.

Was fate on PMS and decided to be a bitch and especially victimize him for her bad day?

Did he do something incredibly horrible to deserve this?

Oh.

Yes.

He did.

He caused this whole mess in the first place.

'_Just like what Kyuubi said.'_

Yes he most certainly does deserve this.

But Sasuke was an Uchiha.

Uchiha do NOT quit on the conquest of youthful love! (Maybe Sasuke's been hanging around bushy-brows too much)

Especially when the other party has returned the feelings.

No sir-ree! Uchiha Sasuke is no quitter!

Uchiha Sasuke-sama will make Namikaze Naru remember everything about him and make her fall in love with him even more than before!

Let the conquest of 'Make-Naru-Fall-In-Love-With-Sasuke-(Again)' begin!

**A/N: I deeply apologize for the short and crappy chapter. I was not happy with it being this short but it seemed like a good place to end. I have a sadistic side of always writing cliffies at the end of chapters. I personally hate it myself but I see why people do it. **

**My mother had rang me while I was in da zone. My train of thought was whizzing away and there goes the phone. I know that's no excuse but still I am clearly annoyed that my ideas just… disappeared and have left me with random youth loving speech. It took me one whole minute to come up with the sentence before this one. That's how crappy my writer's block is. I can't even write a note properly.**

**Sigh…**

**While I was writing those last few sentences, I kinda pictured Sasuke doing the 'YOUTH!' pose while standing on rocks, fist clenched in determination in front of him, eyes glinting with fiery passion and burning YOUTH! flame, and the waves crashing in the background in the sunset. Totally out of character but hey, it's my story, and I'm allowed to tweak Sasuke's character! Besides, if you have actually read this story properly, you would have realized by now that Sasuke in this story is NOTHING like in the manga. Sooo out of character to begin with!! Haha! **

**I hope you still enjoy my less than wonderful chapter of this series and REVIEW what you think about it so far. Maybe you can guess what might happen in the future!**

**I already have some feeling about what I want to happen next but I gotta reorganize my brain and figure out how to piece them together to make the story make sense.**

**Until next time!!**

**Natsumi-sama**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had been a week since I woke up. One. Long. Painful. Week. It was stupid of me to tell him _that._ I had of course gotten my memory back after a night's rest. It seems that retrograde amnesia comes and goes as a side effect of being in a coma for so long.

Anyway, I was stupid to tell him how I felt. No matter how much I want him, I obviously can't have him. He has Sakura and I have… well, I'm still alive aren't I? Still not too late to find someone that loves me. Maybe I'm just being stubborn. I don't know. I don't care. I don't _want_ to care.

It hurts to hear him say that he loves me. I know he does. Just as a friend. Or a sister. But not as anything more. Ever. I should be happy for him. Him and Sakura. It's much easier for everyone if I pretend to forget everything. No one needs to be hurt. Not because of me. I've hurt them enough since they found out about my condition.

I want to get out of here. I want to leave this place. I don't want to see _him _anymore. It hurts too much…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyuubi had received a phone call from the hospital. It was Naru. She had finally woken up. The redhead walked down the corridor towards his sibling's ward. She had sounded rather hasty. She also used that fake tone of happiness he hated so much. Kyuubi knew what he was about to hear wasn't going to be pleasant.

He sighed deeply before opening the door to the room. He saw his younger sister on the bed, sitting up against the headboard. She had a sad smile plastered on her face. It was obvious she had been waiting nervously for him for a while. Naru patted on the bed, signaling her brother to sit on the bed close to her.

"Nii-san." She started quietly.

"How are you feeling sweetheart? Do you remember me?" The redhead asked quietly.

Her smile faltered and she shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry nii-san. I don't remember you… yet." She lied, hoping her brother wouldn't see through it. "Itachi-san told me about you though." She continued.

The redhead seemed a little saddened over the fact that his baby sister couldn't remember him, but he hid it well. He nodded to tell her to continue.

"I have a favor to ask of you. I know I don't deserve the help considering what I've heard I put all of you through. Especially to you…" She continued. The redhead gripped her hand in comfort, telling her to continue. "If it's possible, I want to start again. A new slate. New life. New environment."

Kyuubi gulped. She wanted to forget about them all? Wasn't it bad enough that she actually _did_ forget about them? And now she wanted to throw her old life away?

"I don't mean to make it seem like I'm ungrateful for what all of you have done. I just think… maybe… I need time to rediscover myself. To find myself. I heard… mostly from Itachi-san and the other nurses of what my life used to be like. I don't think I want to live like that anymore…"

Kyuubi frowned. What did she mean?

"From what I've heard, I used to spend all my time working or studying or working again… Which was probably what caused the cancer in the first place. I've learnt my lesson…" She sighed. "I don't want a life full of regrets. I don't want to die wondering 'what if'. I want to enjoy my life. I… I think I need to get out of here for a while… clear my mind, do the things I've always wanted to do… if I remember what I've always wanted to do… if only for a short time." She smiled sadly to her brother. She hated lying to him. She knew how much he was hurting from her wanting to leave her old life behind like this. She squeezed his hand to bring him back to reality.

Kyuubi was far too engrossed thinking about the repercussions his decision would entail. He knew by letting her go on this… 'life expedition' journey, it would not only hurt him and Itachi but it would certainly devastate his brother in law the most. He knew how broken Sasuke was when Naru fell into the coma. He and Itachi was the ones who picked up the pieces from Sasuke's broken heart and it took them at least a month before Sasuke became the least bit normal and left his apartment. Kyuubi had never seen the man as hurt as he was when Naru woke up and lost all memory of him. It took the raven all he had to not fall to his knees and break down in front of the young blonde, according to his spouse. It was hard seeing the usually stoic young man break down and cry like a five year old. Even if this whole mess _was _his fault. Not like his sister was any better herself. Overworking her body to the point of death.

He sighed resolutely. He knew his sister, even if she had lost her memory, he was sure her stubbornness didn't change one bit. If he didn't let her, she would just run away. Sasuke can deal with it. If he really loves her, he should be able to give her some space, even if Kyuubi himself didn't approve of the giving of space.

"It's not like I can refuse you can I?" He sighed.

"That's not…" She started.

"Naru, honey, I practically raised you. I know your character like the back of my hand. Amnesia won't change your character. Even if I tell you 'no', I know you'll wave it off, pretend everything is alright and work yourself to death _again_. I'd rather not see you but know you're alive then see you killing yourself again and _again_ and _**again**_ and…"

"Okay! I get it nii-san." She blurted.

He sighed, "The point is, I want you to know, even though I let you go… 'rediscovering yourself' or whatever…" He quoted, "I want you to know that we all love you. More than you know. And we don't want you to ever _EVER_ forget that, even if you forgot us." He lifted his other hand and caressed her cheeks gently. "Please promise me you'll be careful Naru. I don't want to lose you."

She smiled gently at her brother. "Thank you nii-san. I promise, I'll be careful." She leaned forward and hugged her elder brother.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It wasn't that he didn't try enough. He did try. God knows he tried _so hard_. It was like the whole world was against him. Lady luck was just not on his side these days. Out of all the horrible things that have happened so far, _this_ has certainly taken the cake.

She was leaving them.

She was leaving _him_.

For good.

Well, at least that's what he thinks. That's certainly what he feels like is happening.

She still hates him. Or she doesn't love him like he loves her. Or maybe she does love him but in a different way than he thought. Love him as a brother, friend but never as a lover. It's the most likely reason she's running away from him.

Kyuubi had told him that it may be good for her. Giving her some space. Giving her some time for herself. But Kyuubi is wrong. He _knew_, Sasuke knew, that the only reason she wanted to leave was to run away from him. But there was no way of stopping it now. His asshole brother in law had told him _after_ she had left the country. He even admitted that he truthfully had no idea where she went.

Fuck.

Why does everything have to be so… fucked up?!

Sasuke had nearly destroyed every breakable thing in his apartment before his brother had restrained him. Itachi had taken him into therapy _again_ for his apparent anger management issues.

WTF?!

What anger management issues?!

It was not anger!

It was _frustration _and _stress_.

Very different!

Don't look at me like that!

It IS different!!

Sasuke sighed in _frustration_. He could easily hire a private investigator to go look for her. But that would sound desperate and rather creepy. Stalkerish even. There was nothing he can do now. He can't just drop everything and go Naru-hunting around the world when she doesn't even want to see his face. Even if he did go, he wouldn't even know where to begin searching.

Damn it.

Damn it all.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

5 years later

It felt like forever since she stepped foot in this city. It felt so long ago. So long ago that she nearly died. So long ago that she came back from the dead and started a new life. Albeit by running away from her past, but now it was time to face the music.

There were many times in the five years she's been away that she wanted so badly to know what had happened with everyone else's lives. Itachi and Kyuubi's, Chouji and Ino's, Neji and Gaara's… Sasuke and Sakura's. Although the last pair she tried to avoid thinking about. But it was obviously hard to catch up with anyone or make contact with them since she hadn't actually given them her contact details, nor did she ask for theirs since she was in such a rush to run awa… ummm… rediscover herself. Right…

She had finally moved on… hopefully definitely, and she had finally found her own prince charming. This one (hopefully) definitely NOT gay. He had proposed to her a few weeks ago and wanted to go back to Japan to meet her family and take her to meet his, since he was also Japanese. Although, he seemed more… hesitant about her meeting his family.

Her fiancée, Fuwa Shou, was a famous Japanese singer that was making his American debut. They had met in a café on Sunset Boulevard. He was having trouble ordering coffee and cake. She had noticed he was on the phone with someone speaking Japanese, not that she meant to overhear his conversation. She had helped him of course. He proceeded to thank her and so on, before they knew it, they had talked in the café for more than 6 hours. They were both practically kicked out when the waitress had come to their table and told them the café was closing for the day.

She had felt so bad that she didn't know who he was since he was famous in Japan. He had coaxed her to a dinner date to compensate for 'hurting his feeling' because she didn't know who he was. Of course after the date he just told her it was an excuse to get her to agree to a date. He was a good guy, blonde hair and blue eyes. When he asked her out for a second date, she agreed wholeheartedly. He was a good distraction at the time. Plus it paid that he looked nothing like _him_.

She didn't feel good about using him as a distraction at the time but as time went, she grew fond of Shou. Fondness grew to like and like grew to love. Well, that's what she thinks anyway.

He had told her the truth about his past. About what a jerk he was, that his family owned a small ryokan and that he used to be a nobody from a small town. She appreciated his honesty. She had told him there were many things about her that she couldn't tell him now. That she wasn't ready to. He had accepted it and never bothered her about it unless she was the one who willingly told him.

In all honesty she was surprised he didn't recognize her family name. She guessed it was to be expected since she went by a different name. She felt really bad that she lied to him so much even though he had told her so much about himself. Even his darkest moments and his real name.

He had told her he had to go back to Japan for a while for some commercial shoots and asked her if she wanted to come with him. She had hesitated at first but she thought about it for a while. She had decided that she wanted to go back to her homeland. She wanted her fiancée to know the truth about her, he had been patient all this time after all. He deserved to know her past. And it was certainly time for her to face her own past. She needed closure to fully move on. She had realized that. But this didn't mean she wasn't scared to see _him_ again. _He _was the reason she fled in the first place. She had to completely let him go from her life before she could be really happy with Shou. She knew that.

She and Shou were now on a private jet back to Japan. She so badly wanted to tell him the truth about who she was. But her many years of disappointments in people had built up and made her scared to tell him. Most, if not all the people she had told had completely changed their attitude around her the second she told them who she was. They either started treating her like a bank or that she was a God that could smite them at any second. She didn't want Shou to be like that. She didn't want to be disappointed in him. She knew she should have more faith in him.

Naru sighed, she HAD to tell him. NOW. Before they landed in Japan. Before the press gets to him first.

"Shou, there's something about me you should know." She sighed.

"What is it Na-chan?" He looked up at her from his script.

"You know how you have a stage name and all?"

"… Yes." He raised a golden eyebrow.

"Well… I haven't exactly been honest about my name to you."

"Your… name?"

"Yes, well… my name is _Namikaze-Uzumaki_ Naru. Have you perhaps heard of that name?"

"_Namikaze-Uzumaki_? _The_ Namikaze-Uzumaki? Really?" He didn't seem too shocked. Surprised, yes. Shocked, no.

She just nodded in reply.

He looked her up and down before replying her, "You look different to your brother. Honestly if you didn't tell me I wouldn't have known." He shrugged.

She was certainly not expecting that answer from him. "Huh?"

"Huh what?"

"I thought you would have…"

"Been shocked?" He snorted, "You are the most unpredictable person I know. I was bound to find out something shocking from you sooner or later. Trust me when I say, I was extremely shocked when you would even go out with me in the first place."

"… Okay then. That was a somewhat… different reaction to the ones I usually get. I guess I should tell you other stuff about my past now before I lose the courage to." She said quietly.

He nodded and she proceeded to tell him about everything. His reaction was… practically non-existent. He knew she had a hard life. He could see it in her eyes. The sadness behind that happy mask. He knew from the beginning that it would take her some time before she could open up to him. He didn't want her to feel obligated to tell him. And he certainly doesn't want to judge her when she does tell him.

Shou had felt his heart jolt at the thought that she nearly died. He had never felt the way he did when he first met her. He knew that in the end he wouldn't be the one for her. But he still wanted to try and woo her anyway. He had no idea he would fall so hard for her. That she would say yes when he had proposed to her. She had changed him. In a good way. He used to be proud and haughty. 'Up himself' as she used to tell him when they had started dating. But now he was different. He could feel it. He didn't want to lose her to anyone. Not if he could help it. He could care less if she was worth millions, even billions. He really loved her, she could be dirt poor and he would still love her. Before today, that's what he had thought. That she was an average-Jane in finance. The fact that she was worth more than he could ever afford in a lifetime made him feel all the more privileged that the blonde beauty had chosen him out of all others she could have picked.

He smiled at her when she was done explaining. "Thank you for telling me that, Na-chan. In case you're wondering, no I don't think of you any differently now that I know who you are. I still love you just the same." He smirked, "Although… I feel kinda bad about the ring I got you. Seems so insignificant and small, now that I know about you." He smiled.

Naru shook her head and laughed lightly. "You know I'm not like that." She got up from her seat and sat on his lap, cupping his face smiling. "I would have loved it even if the diamond was non-existent."

"Hmm…" He hummed and wrapped his arms around his fiancée. "That's why I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled as she leaned forward to kiss him. He deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms tighter around her. He broke the kiss when they ran out of air.

"So I take it you told me _now_ of all times because you don't want me to look like a deer in headlights in front of the press right?" He smirked.

"Yeah. The whole shocked-Bambi look doesn't suit you." She joked.

He just rolled his eyes at her.

**AN:** Yeah… So I've decided to use Fuwa Shou from Skip Beat as Sasuke's love rival since I don't really see any character from Naruto that stands out for this particular story. For those of you who actually know Fuwa Shou's actual character, you'll probably find that he is a little OOC. But as despicable as he is in Skip Beat, I think that he has good intentions, although he is selfish and misguided in the series, and he deserves a chance to be seen as a good guy for once. I promise I will not crossover anymore than necessary between the series. I would love to hear about your thoughts about this pairing :D Thanks for reading and please **review**!~ Till next chapter duckies

*muax* XOXO


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Fuuuuuuuuuuck." Sasuke groaned. "God I'm bored. Stupid aniki and forcing an off day for me."

"_I don't want __**you**__ to also work yourself to death. You are going to take a break today whether you like it or not otoutou. I don't want to lose you too." Itachi had told him grimly. "Go home and rest." He added quietly, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Please Sasuke."_

Sasuke knew Itachi was serious. He never called Sasuke by his name unless he was serious about something.

The young raven sighed. It had been stressful for him the last five years. He had immersed himself in work and nothing but ever since Sai and Sakura had received the thumbs up from Sakura's parents on their marriage and moved out of his apartment. Now that he was living alone, there was no one to keep an eye on him so he could do what ever the hell he wanted.

It had been more than one week since he came home. He had spent the last entire week stealing other doctors' shifts and had slept in his exam whenever he felt he was about to keel.

Hey, he knew he was a workaholic but he wasn't stupid. He knew his limits.

He did it for the same reason as _she_ did.

To forget everything else.

To forget _her_.

To forget that she left him.

He sighed and hung his head between his legs.

Now was not the time to reminisce in the painful _painful_ past.

'Whatever, just forget about it. I'll just watch some news.'

"_In local celebrity news…"_

'Great… just great. The one time I watch TV and this crap is on'

"… _Japan's number one rock star, Fuwa Shou, had returned from his endeavor in America with big news today…"_

'Who the hell is Fuwa Shou?!' He raised an eyebrow.

"_The young celeb had arrived in Tokyo in a private jet plane early this morning for a commercial shoot…"_

'That's it, I'm changing the channel.'

"… _and shocked the entire nation when he had shown up with a blonde haired young woman by his side. The mystery woman had worn sunglasses and a hat so the identity of the young lady wasn't at first identifiable. What had shocked everyone even more was the couple were holding hands at the time of arrival and a rather large diamond engagement ring was wrapped around her left ring finger…"_

However, the young Uchiha paused in his actions as he heard the next words coming from the reporter.

"_Upon further research, our reporters at the scene were able to get Fuwa-san's details regarding his fiancée."_

_The screen had changed to a scene at the airport._

"_Fuwa-san, can you tell us who this mystery woman is? Is she your fiancée?" One reporter had asked._

_The blonde singer smiled and had looked at his fiancée before answering the question. The mystery woman had smiled at him and nodded before the singer turned back to the reporter._

Sasuke didn't like where this was going. He could have sworn he recognized that smile. It was _her_ smile.

'Good God, no… please no.'

"_Yes, she is my fiancée." He replied._

"_Can we know who she is?" The reporter asked._

_The young blonde woman had smiled under her hat and proceeded to take off her sunglasses and hat. She smiled at the reporter. Everyone at the scene seemed too shocked for words as they saw who the woman was. Awkward silence… before the reporter decided to break it._

"_Namikaze Naru-san?" The reporter asked._

_The blue eyed blonde didn't reply with words but just smiled at the shocked reporter. The blonde couple didn't say another word as they walked calmly out of the crowd hand in hand._

_The scene had changed back to that of the studio._

"_Well there you have it folks. Out of all the celebrity couples, I personally think this couple takes the cake for being the most unpredictable pairing. Well, I guess while the boys are mourning and the girls are crying of heartbreak over the single status loss of Japan's most eligible bachelorette and hottest rock star, the question on all our minds regarding this couple is: when's the big day?" The reporter smirked at the camera before the credits started rolling._

The remote control had been lying on the ground for some time after falling out of its owner's hand. Sasuke looked like a fish out of water. Mouth agape and eyes wide in shock. Sasuke's mind was reeling with questions.

_Why…_

_Why didn't you choose me?_

The young Uchiha didn't even realize the tears streaking down his cheeks.

**AN: **Yeah I know this one is a short chapter but the ending for the chappie seems an appropriate place to end it. Plus I get to leave you guys all hanging in suspense with this cliffie :D aren't I nice? Please **review** and tell me how I'm doing. I feel like I'm getting a bit rusty since it's been a while since I wrote. Comments and suggestions would be awesome! Until next time my little duckies.

XOXO


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kyuubi didn't know if he should feel happy or furious. Itachi was… well Itachi was as emotionally retarded as he usually was and no one could decipher his feelings on the matter.

Naru had showed up to their home _with a man_ and proceeded to tell them that she was engaged to the blonde haired man.

What. The. Fuck.

The blonde haired man, Fuwa Shou, seemed like a nice enough man. He seemed to love Naru very much from the looks he kept giving her. Apparently he was a rising star in Japan. Although neither Kyuubi nor Itachi had known who he was since both of them had both lived and breathed work and had never any time to check out celebrity gossip. Shou had laughed it off and told the couple that even Naru hadn't known who he was when they first met.

Kyuubi was happy for them both but he couldn't help but feel sorry for Sasuke since the man was still in love with Kyuubi's sister to this very day. He had felt bad when Sasuke came up to him, demanding to know why he wasn't told about her departure from the country. Of course Kyuubi was still furious with his baby sister since she had not once contacted him or anyone else they knew of where she went the past five years and had all of a sudden shown up at his doorstep with a fiancée in tow no less.

Naru and Shou were currently telling them, mostly Itachi, since Kyuubi was busy reminiscing in thought about how they met and came to start dating.

"How long have you actually dated for?" Kyuubi interrupted.

Naru had a feeling that Kyuubi wouldn't be very happy about her showing up all of a sudden, engaged, without telling him first. After all, Itachi and Kyuubi had taken care of her since she was little like a parent would. The both of them only became more protective of her ever since her parents had died.

"Nearly five years, Namikaze-san" Shou had answered him.

Kyuubi had smirked at the young man's manners. He liked the boy. Shou reminded him so much of his father. "It's Uchiha now. But you can call me Kyuubi instead. Five years you say?"

"Yes well, not quite five years. But we did meet five years ago. We started properly dating a few weeks after we met." The young man replied.

"I see… Well! Would the two of you like to join us for dinner tonight then?"

The blonde couple turned to each other before answering the red head, "Sure Kyuubi-san" Shou replied.

Kyuubi smirked and turned to his sister, "Naru, sweetie, can you give me a hand in the kitchen while Tachi shows Shou-kun around the house?"

Naru was taken aback at her brother's obviously fake smile. Shou would probably not notice that Kyuubi's smirk was more sinister than happy. She nodded to her brother and followed him to the large kitchen wordlessly.

"Nii-san…" Naru called out to the redhead once they were both out of sight and hearing range from their lovers.

"I'm disappointed in you baby girl." The redhead started.

"Nii-san, I…"

"Am I not important in your life anymore that I had to find out my only baby sister got herself engaged from the gossip news first?" He sighed as he got out the ingredients for their dinner.

"I wanted to tell you! I did! But I had forgotten to bring my phone when I left and I couldn't remember anyone's phone numbers. I promise nii-san, it wasn't like that." She replied quickly.

He just sighed and shook his head. "So, did you get your memory back by any chance?" He changed the subject.

"Yeah… I got my memory back after I left." She replied somberly.

"Do you really love this boy or is he a replacement?" He asked crudely.

"No! Of course I love him, nii-san."

"Well, good then. As much as I hate to admit it, Shou seems to be a really nice guy. I don't want you to hurt him because you still have feelings for Sasuke." He deadpanned.

"Nii-san…"

"Please, just… I don't want you to have regrets. Make sure you know what you're doing." He came up to her, cupping her face in one hand. "Naru, sweetie, I love you and I want you to be happy. I just want to protect you, but there are some things I can't tell you myself. I just hope you find out the truth before you do anything drastic." He smiled.

"… Thank you nii-san." She hugged the red-head. '_What did he mean by that?'_

"Well, now that that's settled, let's cook the best dinner your man will ever taste." He grinned like a fox at her.

She smiled at Kyuubi.

_I'm sorry Kyuu-nii._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She was sooooo not looking forward to this. Work. So not looking forward to work. The same hospital where she used to work. Well, technically it belonged to her family anyway. The same hospital where _he_ also worked.

Naru walked down the white corridors towards her office, reading her post-op patient's charts. She bumped into someone on the way there since she was so engrossed in her thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized to the person she bumped into.

"Ah it's alright." A feminine voice replied. The owner of said voice turned her head to look at the person who bumped into her. "Naru-san?"

"Yes?" Naru finally turned her head. "Ah. Sakura-san." She grimly smiled.

'_Oh God, I'm not as ready as I thought after all.'_

"When did you come back Naru-san?" The pinkette asked.

"Ah, about 3 days ago."

"Ah! I see. We should definitely catch up sometime. It was too bad you had to miss the wedding, Sasuke-kun would have loved for you to be there." The pinkette continued.

'_Oww. That really hurt.'_

"Ahahaha. It's… regrettable that I couldn't make it. I guess I needed time to… recuperate from my… condition."

"Ah. I guess you're right. I hope you're feeling better now."

"Yes, I am. Thank you for your concern Sakura-san." Naru smiled slightly.

"Ne, Naru-san, I know it may sound a bit… forward of me, but he really misses you, you know? Sasuke-kun I mean. You are his best friend after all." The pink haired woman said meekly.

Naru chuckled bitterly, Sakura didn't notice it though. "I'm sure that's not true."

"No, Naru-san. It's true. After you went into a coma, he went crazy with worry. He just wouldn't stop. He didn't stop working or studying. And then, when he found out you left, he went even crazier. I don't think he went home more than 10 times a year. I'm scared for him. It's not healthy, you know?" She frowned.

"I know."

The green eyed woman finally realized what she said. "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"It's alright." Naru smiled.

"I just… I'm worried about him. But he won't listen to anyone." She sighed.

"Ah."

The sound of Sakura's beeper ringing interrupted the pinkette's train of thought. "Oh, sorry about that." The pinkette read her message and gasped. "Oh shoot! I'm late. I'm so sorry about this Naru-san. I hope we can catch up again. I have to go pick up the kids first. I'm so sorry." She apologized.

'_Kids?'_

"It's alright Sakura-san." She smiled lightly at her.

Sakura waved goodbye before she practically ran for the exit.

'_I guess I haven't really gotten over him after all.'_ Naru sighed dejectedly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shou had run into _her _again. The one whose heart he broke. Of course he was a stupid cocky brat at the time, and maybe he still is, but he wanted to set things straight. He always felt bad since _that_ incident. She was the one who constantly supported him after all and she was his best friend. A childhood friend at the very least.

Last he heard about Kyoko, she had gotten a Japanese equivalent of an Emmy award for Best Supporting Actress in the drama she was in. And that… _Tsuruga_ _Ren_ is getting mighty cozy with Kyoko. Not that Kyoko, that unbelievably oblivious moron, even notice that the guy was in love with her. Of course Shou himself wasn't much help since he was probably the cause of said obliviousness. He broke her heart into a gazillion pieces. She even told him herself that he was the reason she will never believe in love again.

Of course, Shou, being the cocky idiot he was didn't realize that he loved Kyoko until he broke her heart. He had tried to forget about her and went out with many, many girls after that but he still couldn't shake her image out of his head. The times they had spent together when they were young. All the good times and the bad times they had together… until he went to America and met Naru.

He instantly fell in love with the blonde haired beauty. He had never felt like this with anyone else before. Not even Kyoko. He was a changed man. A happy, changed man. Who was about to get married to the most incredible woman ever. So he definitely had to do this right. He had to set things straight and apologize to Kyoko.

Shou walked down the hall towards Kyoko's dressing room. He had called her a few hours ago and simply told her that they needed to talk. The blonde haired man knocked the door lightly.

"_Come in."_

Shou turned the knob and walked in slowly, closing the door as he went. "Kyoko."

"What the hell are you doing here Shoutaro?" She asked him icily.

"Hn. I guess I deserved that."

"Is there a point to your ugly mug being here or are you just going to waste my time?" She glared.

"I'm sorry."

"If you're going to… wait, what?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I had hurt you. Many times in fact. And I know I probably don't deserve your forgiveness but I need to set things straight."

"Oooookay… Who are you and what have you done with the real Shoutaro?" She mocked.

"I'm serious Kyoko. I want to set things straight between us. You are… were my best friend since we were kids and I don't want our friendship to fall out because I was being a jerk." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Uh-huh. Now tell me the real reason you're doing this."

"I'm getting married." He dead-panned.

"… What?"

"I'm getting married in a few months."

"To a real person?"

"Yes."

"To a _real_ human being? A _person_? Getting married to one?"

"Oh for goodness sakes, YES I'M GETTING BLOODY MARRIED!" He snapped.

"Wow. I… never thought that was a possibility for you."

"How so?"

"I mean seriously, you and committed relationships just don't go together y'know?" She shrugged.

"Sorry to disappoint you then." He said sarcastically.

"Do you love her?" She asked him.

"Yes, I do." He said with a genuine smile on his face.

Kyoko looked taken aback by his answer. "Wow, you are soooo whipped." She scoffed at him.

"Shut up Kyoko." He growled. "I am not whipped, I'm just… in love." He shrugged.

"Whipped. Totally 100% whipped."

"Urgh, whatever. Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to tell you."

"So what did you come all the way here for, oh great Shoutaro, tamed beast of love?" She asked sarcastically.

His temporal vein ticked in anger, "I'm going to let that comment slide. For now. Anyway, I just wanted to ask you if you could be my best man, woman, whatever on my wedding day."

"You want me to be your best man, woman, whatever on your wedding day?" She repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, well, you're the closest person I have to a best friend and definitely the only person that knows me as well as you do. I understand if you say no…"

"Ok, I'll do it."

"But I mean… wait, what?"

"Yes, I'll be your best man, woman, whatever." She rolled her eyes at him.

"… Thank you Kyoko." He said quietly. "I really hope you find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Well, the fact that I just agreed to be part of your wedding as your best man should definitely tell you that I have forgiven you. Maybe not completely but I have definitely forgiven you somewhat." She smirked.

He chuckled a bit and shook his head, "I hope you can learn to love again before it's too late, for _his_ sake at least."

"What do you mean?" She cocked her head to the side in confusion.

He laughed, "You'll figure it out. Eventually." He smirked as he stood up and walked out of the dressing room. "See you in a few weeks. Rehearsals start two weeks before the wedding. Ja." He waved to her without looking back.


End file.
